Pompeo pushes back after North Korea calls USA negotiators 'gangster-like'

Tonya Becker |Monday, July 09, 2018

North Korea calls denuclearisation talks with US 'regrettable'

North Korea had expressed regret on Saturday over the attitude of USA negotiators during talks between the country and Pompeo in Pyongyang last week to work out details on how to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula as agreed to by their leaders in their recent summit meeting.

Pompeo said in Tokyo that the USA and its allies remain committed to the goal of a fully verified, final denuclearization of North Korea.

Pompeo met with senior Vietnamese officials, including the prime minister and foreign minister in Hanoi, after weekend stops in Japan and North Korea, where he has been seeking progress in denuclearization negotiations with the North. One of the biggest sources of tension was suggestion from some U.S. officials that North Korea should follow the "Libya model".

Pyongyang said the outcome of the talks was "very concerning" because it initiated a "dangerous phase that might rattle our willingness for denuclearization that had been firm".

"We had expected that the U.S. side would offer constructive measures that would help build trust based on the spirit of the leaders' summit".

He said the fact that the U.S.is "cooperating - and not fighting" with Vietnam "is proof that when a country decides to create a brighter future for itself alongside the United States, we follow through on American promises".

'Our expectations and hopes were so naive it could be called foolish'.

In a speech later on Sunday in Vietnam, Pompeo urged North Korea to follow the example of Vietnam, saying he believed Pyongyang could replicate Hanoi's path to normal relations with Washington and to prosperity.

"The issues the US side insisted on at the talks are all roots of troubles, which the previous administrations also had insisted on to disrupt the dialogue processes, stoke the distrust and increase the danger of war", the statement read.

The rhetoric issued by North Korea following the Pompeo meetings showed a return to sharp, provocative language, dangling the possibility of war if the US continued to make demands.

Former New Mexico governor and veteran diplomat Bill Richardson said on Sunday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is "two for three" in his dealings with North Korea, despite accusations from the Hermit Kingdom that he engaged in "gangster-like" behavior during a recent visit.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Japan after wrapping up two days of talks with senior officials in North Korea. We can hurt them more than they'll hurt us.

"We now have a meeting set up for 12 July".

It said North Korea put forth several constructive proposals, including a declaration formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War, which it called "the first process of defusing tension".

At the same time the U.S. state department was forced to deny reports Mr Pompeo gave Kim Jong Un a CD of Elton John's Rocket Man - a playful reference to Donald Trump's nickname for the North Korean leader.

Pompeo stayed overnight for the first time during his two-days of talks with officials in Pyongyang despite it being his third trip to the country.

There has been growing skepticism in the USA over how serious Kim is about giving up his nuclear arsenal, and both sides have said they needed clarity on the parameters of an agreement to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula that Trump and Kim reached in Singapore.

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